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00:00:01
Harvey Milk
39 Plays15 days ago
This week, Jeff shares the story of Harvey Milk. Milk is a Queer icon. Milk was an American politician and the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in California, as a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.
Because of his tireless advocacy for all gay people Harvey Milk was assassinated in 1978.
His story is unique and heroic. He is simply... a hero.
Sources used:
https://campus.digication.com/caradevine2/last_words
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvey_Milk
https://milkfoundation.org/
https://youtu.be/Od05s8cc32A?si=-5bdnMnkFTCviaqV
And for bonus, if you want to see Anita Bryant take a pie to the face here is that video.
https://youtu.be/5tHGmSh7f-0?si=draPKuXPBM_-iSes
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Transcript
Introduction and Show Platforms
00:00:01
Jeff Rogers
Hello, Sam. Hi, Jeff.
00:00:27
Jeff Rogers
We were just in the middle of a very dumb, random conversation when I accidentally hit the record button. And so now we're going with it. Welcome to the Jeff and Sam show. This is us. This is us.
00:00:41
Jeff Rogers
I'm Jeff.
00:00:44
Jeff Rogers
It's been a minute since we've done this, Sam. Not that long. It hasn't been this long. Okay. ah Okay. The hourglass has turned over. Our glass is turned over. We've got our drinks. You can find this show on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, iHeartRadio.
00:01:00
Jeff Rogers
What's it called? Because now people have to share with their new listeners. it's easy. It's the Jeff and Sam Show. Indeed it is. So you can just search in Apple, Spotify, Amazon, iHeartRadio, the Jeff and Sam Show, and it will pop up.
00:01:13
Jeff Rogers
You can find us on Instagram, the Jeff and Sam Show um on Instagram, and then just jeffandsamshow.com. We have our own podcast. website.
00:01:24
Jeff Rogers
Yes, we Is there anything on there? There's a little bit. Have we gotten any farther? No. But you know what? We'll get there. If you're expecting perfection,
Embracing Imperfections and Pride Events
00:01:33
Jeff Rogers
you have come to the wrong place. You absolutely have. And that is why listening to the Jeff and Sam Show accept it yeah this is just who are it's imperfect we're here to talk to we're here to podcast at you we're chatting in your head with the voices in your head okay yeah that's all we can do we're the voices they i'd be so happy if i was you and me if we were the voices in my head that'd be great instead of those other ones yeah those ones are not nice all the time jesus sometimes they're very confusing yep what's new what's going on hello
00:02:03
Jeff Rogers
Okay, I have to think about where we're at here in the actual timeline of life and the podcast time. So where are we at? Podcast time is different. It is. It really is. So, yeah, quick summary. I think the last time we recorded, it was actually
00:02:19
Jeff Rogers
whatever. the the moment that we are currently recording is 12th. thewelf This will not come out until a week later. But this past weekend was Pride weekend in D.C. So I did the thing. What thing did you do?
00:02:37
Jeff Rogers
I did the thing. i did the thing. um
00:02:42
Jeff Rogers
Thursday night... um Francois and Gabby and Kelsey and I went to the Nationals night out, which is their pride celebration. And it was wonderful. it was amazing.
00:02:54
Jeff Rogers
Nat's not so hot on the playing field right now, but baseball games going to them, it's so much more about the experience than it is about like what's happening on the field, right?
00:03:07
Jeff Rogers
It was a pretty field. It was beautiful and it was ah it was a wonderful night. It was great. um So that was Thursday night. Friday, kind of don't want to talk about it. That was float day, Sam Fest, and genuinely not even worth talking about. not great.
00:03:25
Jeff Rogers
Not my thing. Not for me. Let's move on to the good part of the weekend then. The good part of the weekend was we went into D.C. and got a hotel room for those who wanted to join and stay in the city so that they didn't have to come and go. And what a weekend because not only was D.C. Pride, it was world pride and it was world pride in the middle of everything that we are currently going through.
00:03:54
Jeff Rogers
In the U.S., in the world, everything that is going on right now is not ideal. So there were some reservations, some hesitations about what this weekend would hold. And it was ten times better because everyone came out and...
00:04:12
Jeff Rogers
did the thing because they wanted to do it in spite of what was happening in the world and, and to show the world and to show the S that like, this is us. This is it. Like we're going to keep doing the thing.
00:04:26
Jeff Rogers
That doesn't represent us. It doesn't, it doesn't represent us. And it you know what It doesn't hide us. It doesn't, it doesn't hold us back. And it, who we will not fall under that.
00:04:37
Jeff Rogers
And it was, I think it was made all the more magical because I've been to like, all the ones before, right?
00:04:44
Jeff Rogers
This one was just so much more powerful, I think, maybe is the word that I'm looking for. I met so many great people, did some crazy shit. um You were super sparkly.
00:04:57
Jeff Rogers
I, listen, my personality. Francois was sparkly. And you know what? I think the greatest part is that like Francois and his wife came and obviously they're not gay because it's a he and her, right? Yeah.
00:05:11
Jeff Rogers
But they came and they celebrated the whole fucking weekend with me because they are allies. And they were like, duh, we'll come to support you because why not?
00:05:22
Jeff Rogers
And they did the thing all weekend and they were wonderful and lovely and they weren't afraid to put glitter and paint and sparkles and random rainbow shit all over the place. And they did it.
00:05:36
Jeff Rogers
And it
Casual Banter and Entertainment Discussion
00:05:36
Jeff Rogers
was, it was beautiful I just think it says a lot about Francois. And Gabby. And Gabby, of course, but it's different for a girl a straight man to be in that space and to be as comfortable as he was.
00:05:52
Jeff Rogers
And he did. There was not even an issue. He's just such a an ally and a supporter, and that's always fantastic. He is, and he did it. Can we say Cheers Queers and start drinking now? Because...
00:06:03
Jeff Rogers
I've had so much food today, Sam. I did. I did. Oh my God. ah didn't work out. I had to have blood drawn this morning for all the tests in the world. It's like a birthday present to myself. Just to make him make sure he's healthy, not because of anything wrong. No, no, no. It's a gift.
00:06:21
Jeff Rogers
Because when you told me that last night, I was like oh my God, are you dying? No, no, no. So I fasted, went to have all of the blood work done. And then I was freaking hungry. So we go to this brewery close by for ah friend of ours, Stephanie, and um had so much food.
00:06:45
Jeff Rogers
So much food. So now it's in the afternoon. There's a slight food come coma coming our way. But we're doing it. We're reading. God. I can't open it. Help me. So I'm having an Ollie, an Ollie pop. Wait, help me open this. Oh, pitiful. I can't. My fingers hurt. It's for a really long month. Oh, speaking of, you're going to to help me change my battery on my key fob. Oh, I can do that.
00:07:09
Jeff Rogers
That's an easy thing. I mean, are we already there? We're there. Didn't I just do that the last time? That was like a year. No, that was like two years ago. It was right. It was right. It was two years ago. Yeah. Yeah. Other Sam left and I came in. yeahp Okay.
00:07:22
Jeff Rogers
My Olipop vintage cola. Okay. I'm drinking the Olipop banana cream. ooh this could go real bad or real good. feel I can't go wrong with a cola.
00:07:35
Jeff Rogers
Oh, I can fix that for you.
00:07:40
Jeff Rogers
Okay. Cheers, queers. Cheers, queers.
00:07:46
Jeff Rogers
All right.
00:07:48
Jeff Rogers
I'm okay with this. i have a lot of thoughts.
00:07:54
Jeff Rogers
You picked it out. I did. And there's a part of me that's like a big, big fan, and then there's that aftertaste that makes me kind of go... huh Could be the... our coma that we're in and our excessive food consumption. we did do that. Oh my God. I want to unbutton one of the 15 buttons that my pants have, so i'm going to do this.
00:08:15
Jeff Rogers
It's going to be like the Nutty Professor. yeah
00:08:21
Jeff Rogers
Might not be as fit as you. These don't have buttons, okay? Okay. God, this guy. They would just pop. Shut up. I'm so fit. Look at leg. No, I'm not. Never said that. I know. Never said that. I know. You have never. Okay. But the truth is, is that you are.
00:08:35
Jeff Rogers
So when I look at you and I see that, I'm like, no. A button will pop off of these, honey. I got a whole bunch of flam just holding holding my shit in. i got a whole tire right here.
00:08:46
Jeff Rogers
a little muscle. Yeah, right. You got one of them real, real, what is it? When the rubber meets the road. What company is that? Good no. Goodyear partor Firestone. Firestone.
00:08:59
Jeff Rogers
Firestarter. Firestarter. Where the rubber meets the road. And Drew Barrymore. i don't know. But you know what? If you got a tire, then it's one of those. It's one of those rubber meeting the road Firestone ones. That's so funny. ah So what's it with you?
00:09:17
Jeff Rogers
ah What did you do? What did I do yesterday? day and I don't know. I read a book. Okay. A whole ass book?
00:09:29
Jeff Rogers
Yeah, a whole book. I've got two that I've read. Excuse me. didn't say a whole book. I said a whole book. A whole ass book. Thank you. The first one was When the Wolf Comes Home. It's a horror. It's so good. Why do I recognize that?
00:09:42
Jeff Rogers
Have you told me about that before? I brought it to the work to work and put it on the shelf so anybody can read it. Yes. It's a fast read. It's a really good read. It's suspenseful page turner. Okay. Okay. Okay.
00:09:53
Jeff Rogers
And then watched a horror movie. Which one? The Green Room. Again? No. I haven't said that on the show. I've only told you that because i can't recommend it enough. Okay. I can't remember where we are in space and time. I It's not for me. That's for you.
00:10:12
Jeff Rogers
I just talk. Why is that for me? ah I'm the one that can't remember this morning. like can only help you so much. no And then. um I've heard good things from people. It's really, really good.
00:10:28
Jeff Rogers
But it's. Based on a semi-realish story. It's based on a, I think, I think it's based on a semi-real story. um Also watch the Hell House movies.
00:10:40
Jeff Rogers
Now, look. Not to be confused with Hell House because sometimes when you say things, it sounds like hill. his No, this is hell. Hell House, the way that some of us say dell. Hell.
00:10:50
Jeff Rogers
This is Hell House. And it was horrifying. Horrifying. Multiple movies? There are several of the Hell House movies. And the one, i am sorry I'm talking about two. I watched two of them. Carmichael's Inn and there was another one based out of New York.
00:11:10
Jeff Rogers
My God. So what is the Hell House
00:11:14
Jeff Rogers
haunted house right and people open up the haunted well one of them was they open up this they rent out this house that was haunted or that bad things happened in but they didn't know the cause of the bad things we should do this so they rented it out to have a halloween haunted house in it and all of this is done like documentary style right can we do it do what This. Can we do this? There are plenty of places.
00:11:39
Jeff Rogers
There was a clown. Oh, nope. Life size. Didn't move the whole time except one time. No. The clown's head slightly turned. I'm good. knew. I knew
Curiosity and Historical Context
00:11:49
Jeff Rogers
that point right there would have you Son bitch. Okay.
00:11:52
Jeff Rogers
So that's one of many. Uh-huh. So tell me another one. that Does it have a clown in it too? Yeah. They all have the suit. Because the clown is part of it. It's all about the clown.
00:12:04
Jeff Rogers
It's all about the clown. I'm not great about that. Okay. So can we do this ourselves and we can host a Halloween party in a haunted house, but can we like ah research to make sure there's no clowns? We can host a Halloween party. Yeah.
00:12:18
Jeff Rogers
I thought you meant like, so, because this was like a haunted house for the whole town to come to and go through. Okay. We can just do a Halloween party. I don't want to do a whole town thing. It's a big ass town.
00:12:29
Jeff Rogers
So all of them have the clown now? Yeah. they ah that Can I tolerate it? No, I could. It was horrible. damn Okay. Horrible. right. Well, I will listen to all the rest of you listeners. Tell me about how you feel about hell house.
00:12:46
Jeff Rogers
Um, Because I can't do it. I have this. I am sitting here. I sit here every day since the fucking corn clown and the cornfield. sit here with this fucking jack-in-the-box staring at me when we record. And I am okay with that.
00:13:01
Jeff Rogers
Do you know we got the strangest email? I don't want to talk about that. Is it a clown? Please no. It's from somebody that wants to tell their story.
00:13:14
Jeff Rogers
It's given me, I watch way too many horror movies though. Way too many horror movies. It gave me that vibe. I was like, I'm not, I don't know about this. What? Yeah. No, no, no. Wait, wait. No, we will talk about it later. i will show you later.
00:13:27
Jeff Rogers
i love the idea. Uh-huh. But you're so apprehensive. love it more because of that. Because I watch much horror movies, too many horror movies. Okay, we're doing it. Okay, so are we do we want to tell a story? Yes, I want you to tell a story, but first, I would like to talk about the fact that this show is coming out on June the 19th, which to a lot of people means a lot of different things. Yeah.
00:13:53
Jeff Rogers
In recent years, it has turned into the actual federal holiday, Juneteenth. So we know that for that reason itself. However, on June nineteen in nine and that year're nine thirty six louisie the I just hit the whole thing. I'm so sorry.
00:14:15
Jeff Rogers
okay It's Louis the fourth a.k.a. Louis of Overseas, was crowned King of France. Okay. And you know, know that you love Norway. Okay.
00:14:27
Jeff Rogers
So in 1179, the Norwegian battle of Kalsvikinit outside of Nadaros.
00:14:37
Jeff Rogers
Did I say that right? Probably not. Those are imprimatur. Erling Skake was killed and it turned the tide of the civil war when he died. Okay. Okay.
00:14:52
Jeff Rogers
In 1306, it was the Battle of Methaven or Metven? Metven. Metven. method met and I know. The Earl of, this one's a big thing for me, and Ashley will appreciate it. My Ashley will appreciate it because Outlander, right? So the Earl of Pembroke's army defeated Robert the bruce' Bruce's Scottish army at the Battle of Methaven. So anyone who ever watched, you know, um wow I'm drawing a blank. Braveheart, right? We know Robert the Bruce. Yeah.
00:15:26
Jeff Rogers
You know Robert. I've seen Braveheart. you That's actually a big deal for you. Yeah. Okay, that's fine. Also. I mean, it was a man in a skirt. it's i mean There were a couple of men in skirts. I can't really turn away from that. You can't. And you know what they say that the Scottish were under their kilts?
00:15:47
Jeff Rogers
in seventeen seventy eight you know what happened in seventeen seventy eight on this day no George Washington's continental army troops finally left Valley fucking forge, which was their winter encampment. So for the money you love your, it's before they murdered George Washington.
00:16:10
Jeff Rogers
you don't know what I'm talking about, watch episode. So good. Definitely, definitely murder. Not accidental. Okay. So that's 1778. um
00:16:23
Jeff Rogers
Okay. Um... And then 1829, Robert Peel introduces the Metropolitan Police Act of 1829 into Parliament to establish a unified police force for London, which was the city's first modern police force. And I know you love London. Yeah. And I know you love the Bobbies.
00:16:47
Jeff Rogers
So, you know. That's cool.
00:16:55
Jeff Rogers
1862, slavery is outlawed in U.S. territories.
00:16:58
Jeff Rogers
so Okay. Yeah.
00:17:02
Jeff Rogers
1865, and this is the day that most people know as Juneteenth, the Union General Gordon Granger declared slaves free in Texas. So now the date is the end of slavery slavery celebrated across the U.S. as Juneteenth. okay So there's a lot of people that
Harvey Milk's Life and Legacy
00:17:20
Jeff Rogers
don't know what Juneteenth is and they don't understand the significance of it.
00:17:24
Jeff Rogers
But that's it. That should be a story. In 1865. So it's been a while, right? And we didn't federally recognize it until just a handful of years ago, right? so in 1900, the Republican Party nominated President William McKinley for re-election, but they chose a new candidate for vice president.
00:17:50
Jeff Rogers
Do you know who it was? Roosevelt. Teddy Roosevelt. Damn, that was good. That was a good guess. A couple years later in 1903, New York Central Railroad began building Grand Central Terminal on this day. Have you been into Grand Central Station? have. Multiple times.
00:18:08
Jeff Rogers
It is majestic. Unbelievable. Yeah. in But that they started that in 1903. On June the nineteenth June the nineteenth oh shit. They started construction on it. In 1910, Father's Day was celebrated for the first time ever.
00:18:26
Jeff Rogers
There was a lot of really bad shit that happened on your day, You can skip I just did. Again, because we know you love sports. 1922, Pavo runs the world meter and sets the record for fourteen minutes twenty eight seconds And then in 1933, Australian Chancellor Engelbert Dolfus, Austrian Chancellor Engelbert Dolfus, Dolfus?
00:18:59
Jeff Rogers
How do you say that? Dolfus? so I don't know. I don't know. Bans Nazi organizations.
00:19:08
Jeff Rogers
um 1943 for all of the actual sports fans out there the philadelphia eagles and the pittsburgh steelers merged and then it dissolved on december 5th because fucking philly and fucking pittsburgh shitsburg as we know it um um, 1944, five of the, quote, Magnificent Eleven photos taken by Robert Capa during the D-Day landings at Omaha Beach, Normandy, were first published in Life magazine.
00:19:46
Jeff Rogers
CBS was starting their broadcasting on this day in 1953, as well as WTPA then became ABC. Tasmanian Devil was created in
00:20:08
Jeff Rogers
nineteen sixty three valentina tarish cova the first woman in space ever return to earth on this day
00:20:20
Jeff Rogers
1964, American folk singer Bob Dylan completed his first ever u k tour. 1964, the Civil Rights Act passed he took Okay.
00:20:31
Jeff Rogers
seventy-three to twenty seven
00:20:36
Jeff Rogers
And then just a handful of years later, maybe a few, maybe a couple, maybe a handful, maybe many more, you, my sweet, sweet, flaming...
00:20:51
Jeff Rogers
Vortex of fuckery. Jeffrey, you blessed us and graced this world with your cosmic fabulosity on this day, sometime before this day. Well, I came out and I was like, I'm here. I'm here and I'm queer.
00:21:08
Jeff Rogers
I'm queer. Get used to it. That was 1976. You had a lot of shit. I will be turning 49, which is amazing to me. On the day this comes out.
00:21:20
Jeff Rogers
On the day that this comes out, I turn 49 years old. And that's wild to me. It's wild to the 25-year-old I used to be. do you know what i mean? Yeah. Like, it's crazy. The time goes by. Yeah.
00:21:31
Jeff Rogers
um And hopefully on this day, when the actual day happens, we will be laying by a pool getting some sunshine. sunshine And even if we aren't, then we're going to be hanging out with some good people.
00:21:48
Jeff Rogers
Hanging out with some good people. And I'm going to be forcing you to flip a time turner for a board game that you absolutely hate. Okay. yeah you have to do is flip the turner. Yeah, I'll flip the turner.
00:21:59
Jeff Rogers
You don't have to play the game. Why are you loving your boobs? I think itched. So yeah, turning 49, 49 times around this damn sun. i have gone. You've done it.
00:22:11
Jeff Rogers
I've done it. It's been wonderful. And this, it's like a new, a new beginning, right? yeah It always is Always is. So happy birthday to you. Thank you. My favorite, absolute favorite.
00:22:26
Jeff Rogers
you're my favorite partner. You're my favorite. um I'm going to take you to the doctor until I'm taking my uterus out person.
00:22:34
Jeff Rogers
That was such a funny conversation. yeah was a funny conversation. And you know what? When I was doing the story for this week, um this is going to be a segue. Oh, look at you with the segue.
00:22:44
Jeff Rogers
and if you tell us that it's a segue, is it the same? Yeah, because it's a segue. Okay. No, but the person that I'm doing for the story this week, he died when he was 48.
00:22:56
Jeff Rogers
And I thought that was crazy because he's a legend, right? He's a legend. And he didn't make it to 49. So that... And in his 48 years of existence, there was a lot.
00:23:09
Jeff Rogers
Yeah, a lot. Yeah. And Sue, I grappled with the terminology when I was writing the story out. In the story I use the term quite often gay people.
00:23:21
Jeff Rogers
I'm referring to the terminology used in the 50s, 60s, and 70s in America. Language is a living thing. It evolves over time. It's not as bad as happy, shameless fags. happy shameless fags. Yeah.
00:23:33
Jeff Rogers
You know what? I don't even have to justify it. It's the language of the 70s and this is when the story took place for the most part. Obviously i am including everybody, but the word of the time, the phrase of the time, gay people, lesbian, that was what was used. so I'm going to use it, okay?
00:23:51
Jeff Rogers
um so i'm going to tell you the story the first openly gay man to be elected to public office today public office at a time in history when people were losing their jobs for being gay and being gay was generally not accepted by society i'm going to tell you the story of harvey milk
00:24:11
Jeff Rogers
but love here He paved the way. He was a tireless advocate, at and that advocacy work came at a price. Milk was aware of the price, and he still fought the fight.
00:24:24
Jeff Rogers
He was assassinated in November of 1978. And right before that, he made ah tape to be released only if he, quote, took a bullet to the head.
00:24:35
Jeff Rogers
So buckle up. This is a crazy story, okay? Born May 22nd, 1930 into a Jewish family. 22nd.
00:24:44
Jeff Rogers
Oh, shit. Really? Yeah. Well, the coincidence of what is the coincidence of the story, Sam? I want to tell. That's that happens to me the same day that I was brought into this vortex of fuckery.
00:24:59
Jeff Rogers
This is May 22. Yeah. What a day. Well, look at this. The stories have met the fate and it's full circle. Okay. So this man shared your birthday.
00:25:11
Jeff Rogers
May the 22nd, 1930. He was born into a Jewish family. Harvey Milk grew up at a time in history, basically Jewish and gay. In 1930. 1930s, It's the worst time in history for this circumstance.
00:25:26
Jeff Rogers
ah He grew up in the 30s in Long Island, New York. Both his religion and his sexuality made Milk a target. Milk knew early on that he was gay, and it seems like his father knew that he was gay, so his father...
00:25:39
Jeff Rogers
would say things to him like, act like a man. So Harvey tried to, quote, be the man that his father wanted. ah He played sports. He hung out with real pretty women, pretty girls.
00:25:52
Jeff Rogers
But that was just an act. Milk knew who he was on the inside. And there is nothing worse than knowing who you are and fearing the consequence of being that person.
00:26:03
Jeff Rogers
That's why pride is so important. Flashback to that is the reason Pride important. original story is back in a year ago. A year ago. Yep. He also lived near Fire Island in New York.
00:26:17
Jeff Rogers
So he sees gay men living their lives, right? This is not an uncommon thing for him to see. So at a synagogue one day, Milk broke down to the rabbi and he confessed that he was gay.
00:26:31
Jeff Rogers
And he shared his worries about this with the rabbi. What the rabbi said, Milk would remember for the rest of his life. The rabbi told Milk, you shouldn't be concerned about how you live your life as long as you feel you're living it right.
00:26:46
Jeff Rogers
How powerful is that coming from the leader of that community?
00:26:50
Jeff Rogers
It had a very positive influence on him. That's something that a lot of religions can't say. 1947, Milk visited a cruising spot in Central Park where gay men frequented.
00:27:04
Jeff Rogers
And right when he got there, he was immediately arrested. He was 17 years old and this fucked him up. He begged the officers to let him go. Eventually, they did let him go, but it was still really traumatic for him.
00:27:18
Jeff Rogers
He immediately went back into the closet and he attended New York State teacher are a College for Teachers where he studied math and languages. And in 1950, Milk took a lit ah life-changing trip.
00:27:30
Jeff Rogers
He went to Cuba. This was before Cuba was a military government. It was an open so society and Milk changed while he was there. He wasn't about sports anymore.
00:27:41
Jeff Rogers
He started writing about civil rights. And this trip to Cuba was the impetus for the Harvey Milk that we know of today. In 1951, Milk wasn't doing so well at college, so he dropped out. His father made him do the... This is so funny to me.
00:27:57
Jeff Rogers
His father made him do the strange the straightest thing ever. Join the Navy.
00:28:06
Jeff Rogers
i say that sarcastically because, i mean, obviously in the nineteen fifty s that did seem like the, quote, manliest thing to do, right? We're going to leave it there. Okay.
00:28:17
Jeff Rogers
At the base in San Diego, Milk would meet other gay men. And when they went out on town, Milk noticed that his Navy uniform made him look pretty fucking hot. Side note, Milk also served in the Korean War.
00:28:31
Jeff Rogers
Didn't know that. No. not to minimize anything. He did like the dude served in war for our country. Okay. It's not my war. Also, the reason I'm doing this story The reason I'm doing this story... Why?
00:28:47
Jeff Rogers
Is because Harvey Milk has a ship named after him. And during the month of June, month of Pride, the name is going to be... removed from that ship or will be removed from that ship so while we mentioned that he was in the navy while we mentioned that he served in the korean war and his name is on a ship they're going to pay like hundreds of thousand dollars to remove the name from that ship anyway that's a whole nother whole other story um He received medals for this. And in 1955, his time in the Navy came to an end and he moved to Los Angeles.
00:29:24
Jeff Rogers
There in Los Angeles, Milk met two more, and two important people. Sandra Davis, who she called herself his fag hag. And he met John Harvey. I'm yours. Yeah.
00:29:35
Jeff Rogers
Milk adored John. They were smitten. This was his first boyfriend. John left Milk after a year. At this time, they were in Miami, so Milk went out on the city. Eventually, he was arrested and charged with indecency or perversion.
00:29:51
Jeff Rogers
After he was released, he suffered from depression. he went back to Long Island. He worked there as a teacher for a while. Then Milk met his second boyfriend, Joe Campbell. The pair moved to Texas, but that didn't work out.
00:30:04
Jeff Rogers
Texas didn't welcome milk because of his Jewishness. If it ain't one thing, it's another. man So they went back to the New York. Now, Joe Campbell's um ex-boyfriend was big into Broadway. Okay. Okay.
00:30:20
Jeff Rogers
So the relationship lasted until 1961 when Joe ended it. I think Harvey had an anger problem, and this was this would cause the end of several of his relationships.
00:30:32
Jeff Rogers
It was messy. Joe was secretly seeing other men. Milk made ah cringy attempt to seduce Susan. Milk couldn't get over Joe at least for a while. He sent many love letters to him, but Joe never responded.
00:30:47
Jeff Rogers
So in 1963, Milk was 33 years old, no career, a couple of failed relationships, Things were about to change for him, and he didn't know it. He began working on Wall Street as an analyst.
00:31:00
Jeff Rogers
He got into conservative politics. Isn't that a strange turn? Kind of odd? Well, a little bit to the left, rather than 1964, he campaigned for Barry Goldwater, who was the Republican nominee for president.
00:31:17
Jeff Rogers
Now, you wouldn't think about it, right? But there are gay Republicans. ah You got a right to be anything you want to be in this country. but not that You can be a gay Republican. And there are minty... ah Minty.
00:31:30
Jeff Rogers
There are many... a gay Republican and Harvey Milk met them. They were in his same little circle. So Milk met ah Craig Rodwell and dated Rodwell for a while.
00:31:46
Jeff Rogers
There was an STD exchange between the two. ah But side note, Rodwell is known for being the person who coined the term gay power. oh This was a brief relationship, but Rodwell was an activist, so this exposed milk to gay activism, right?
00:32:02
Jeff Rogers
Everything kind of happened in his life for a reason. milk then met jack mckinley they formed a relationship milk was in his late 30s and mckinley was 17 cringe and like i'm telling the story i like the man but i don't have to agree with everything about him right this is just his story they were in new york so milk ended up because of the broadway person that was in his life at one point milk ended up getting a few small roles on broadway and broadway plays and It kind of fit his personality and it showed him, it taught him how to be theatrical later in life. well He even had a small role in a movie with Robert Downey Sr. Shut up.
00:32:42
Jeff Rogers
No. Huh. What movie? Don't know. Didn't Google it. I will. Iron Man. I'm just kidding. Wait a second.
00:32:53
Jeff Rogers
So Milk, at this time, started wearing his hair really long. He started attending protests for the anti-war, anti-Vietnam War protests. Money was an issue, though, so Milk cut his hair, took a good job as and at an investment bank in San Francisco.
00:33:09
Jeff Rogers
This dude's moving the country, man. He's going all over. i mean, I like to bop around. Same. Golly. It was in 1969 that Harvey Milk told his friends that he was going to become the mayor of San Francisco.
00:33:20
Jeff Rogers
And in 1972, was living in San Francisco with his new boyfriend, Joseph Smith. Turn it off. The two of them opened up a camera store on Castro Street.
00:33:32
Jeff Rogers
And if you don't know Castro Street, if you've never had the...
00:33:36
Jeff Rogers
privilege of going to castro street and everything that that is it is the gay mecca it was once the gayest city in the country and the gayest street in the gayest city in the country so they had their camera store on castro street um milk felt like this was where he was supposed to be right like i mean if you've ever been there you felt like that's where you're supposed to be ah So he and his boyfriend, um he has this boyfriend, this great personality. He's very theatrical.
00:34:11
Jeff Rogers
did that. He's very theatrical. And the milk soon became an icon in the neighborhood. ah Milk filed to run for the Board of Supervisors in 73, but he was immediately turned down.
00:34:22
Jeff Rogers
They didn't think that Milk had the street cred to be elected any elected person in San Francisco. i mean, there was all these other older gay activists, and he was this loud New Yorker, right?
00:34:34
Jeff Rogers
He kind of annoyed some of the older activists. Aren't all New Yorkers loud? I'm not saying that. However, Harvey Milk was like, fuck you. And he ran again.
00:34:45
Jeff Rogers
He touched on issues that affected the gay community, the working class community, the black people, the senior citizens. He was learning how to be a politician. He was trying to win votes from everybody.
00:34:58
Jeff Rogers
He didn't win, but he didn't come in last place this time. If at first you don't succeed. In 1973, the Teamsters Union was planning to boycott Coors Beer after they hired non-union labor.
00:35:14
Jeff Rogers
Milk approached them and said that he could get the gay bars to stop selling Coors Beer. If he could do this, he asked that the Teamsters Union hire gay drivers.
00:35:27
Jeff Rogers
Okay. Yeah. ah Mind you, at this time, San Francisco had a very large group of voting gay people. So Milk stayed true to his word. That's that's big there. A lot of the gay people voted. Few people do.
00:35:40
Jeff Rogers
Milk stayed true to his word. ah The gay bar stopped selling Coors beer. And like that, Harvey Milk just had his very first political victory. This earned Harvey Milk some well-needed street cred.
00:35:54
Jeff Rogers
Milk and the Blue Collar Union were working together. that Which is kind of hard to picture, right? It's hard to picture. Because when a gay man and you don't think of but blue collar. No, you don't. And there's this, I think you should watch it. I'm telling you the story from that documentary. It's called In the Time of Harvey Milk.
00:36:13
Jeff Rogers
And it is so beautiful, this documentary. You will cry, you will laugh. You will see the blue collar men in 1985. That's when this documentary took place. You will see them talking about Harvey Milk.
00:36:28
Jeff Rogers
And the respect that they had for him. That's wonderful. And you will see Harvey Milk. He was such um he was such a performer. ah character. He was very true to himself.
00:36:41
Jeff Rogers
And he could, and people could relate to Harvey. Okay. Yeah. I was so fascinated watching this documentary. ah So, Milk and the Blue Collar Union, they were getting along, working well together. This sparked something in Harvey Milk. And in 1974, Milk formed the Castro Village Association.
00:37:01
Jeff Rogers
This was the first organization in America to consist of gay-owned businesses. Woo-hoo. Milk started convincing gay people and allies to shop at queer-owned businesses.
00:37:13
Jeff Rogers
It was working. In 1975, he ran again for the Board of Supervisors, but he lost. He gained a lot more votes, though. Okay, so he's not second. You just don't give up. If you really want something, you don't give up.
00:37:25
Jeff Rogers
You keep on going with it. Keep on going with it. In 1975, George Moscone was elected mayor of San Francisco. He was a liberal politician in the California State Senate.
00:37:36
Jeff Rogers
Mayor Moscone was determined to build an administration that looked like San Francisco's population. So in 1976...
00:37:46
Jeff Rogers
Harvey Milk, he appointed Harvey Milk to the Board of Permit Appeals. So this was a statement by Moscone because he made Harvey Milk the first openly gay city commissioner in America.
00:37:59
Jeff Rogers
Okay. Right? 1936, good year. It's a good year. However... Harvey Milk, he was grateful for that, but he wanted to earn the votes and earn a political seat, not be appointed but for one, but he was really grateful for that.
00:38:16
Jeff Rogers
He just wanted to earn it, earn the votes, right? okay Okay. So in 1976, Milk ran for California State Assembly, and he lost, and the relationship that he was in ended.
00:38:30
Jeff Rogers
Milk founded the San Francisco Gay Democrat Club. And this club challenged the way board of supervisors was elected. The board of supervisors had always been voted in citywide.
00:38:41
Jeff Rogers
So the whole town votes on the supervisors. Milk led the change that got rid of the citywide votes and opted for voting by districts or neighborhoods. And one of the voting districts was the Castro, where Milk was well known.
00:38:59
Jeff Rogers
This worked, and in 1977, Harvey Milk was elected to the Board of Supervisors along with the first Chinese American and the first female African American. But the press focused on Harvey Milk.
00:39:13
Jeff Rogers
In his swearing-in ceremony, he focused on gay marriage and marriage equality, but as is always true in politics, when you have somebody on one side, you have the equal and opposite reaction on the other side, right?
00:39:26
Jeff Rogers
At the same ceremony, Dan White was sworn in. White was a Vietnam vet and a former cop. White didn't like pot smokers and he didn't like gay people. And he didn't like what was happening to his city.
00:39:40
Jeff Rogers
And he loathed Harvey Milk. Milk was now receiving hate mail and even death threats. Milk got to, he got to work on the board though. He was focused on what at the time was the strongest LGBTQ plus IA, QIA plus bill in American history.
00:39:58
Jeff Rogers
All of the supervisors voted against, against that bill, but Dan White, Dan White actually voted for it. So it was a win for Harvey Milk. Okay.
00:40:08
Jeff Rogers
But and this was only ah like a little battle in the big war that was going to come. Okay. Anita Bryant. Have you ever heard of Anita Bryant? Name sounds familiar. This wretched human being.
00:40:20
Jeff Rogers
She's wretched. oh Do you know the video that I sent you about the man with the British accent? Yeah. Fucking Wankstain. She's a Wankstain.
00:40:30
Jeff Rogers
Oh. Like, she's she was the face of, like, orange juice in the 70s in Florida. She spent her entire adult life trying to take away gay rights,
00:40:46
Jeff Rogers
trying to just prevent gay people from getting anything. This was her life's mission. What's name? Anita Bryant. ah She's well known for her ad her advocacy against the queer community.
00:41:01
Jeff Rogers
However, if there's anything that you watch of Anita Bryant, let it be this. Go to YouTube and watch her get a pie slammed in her face by a gay man.
00:41:12
Jeff Rogers
okay There is nothing better. support that. There's nothing better. She just was a nasty human being. um Because of the likes of Anita Bryant...
00:41:21
Jeff Rogers
um Because of the likes of Anita Bryant, all across the country, gay rights were being taken away or denied. And this found its way to California by the state senator, John Briggs, in his Proposition 6.
00:41:34
Jeff Rogers
This was a gross bill. Essentially, Prop 6 was out to fire all gay teachers and to fire those teachers with positive attitudes towards gay people.
00:41:47
Jeff Rogers
And the worst part about this is that at this time, 60% of California's voting population was for this proposition. Harvey Milk heard of this and he was angry about this and he decided to fight this.
00:42:02
Jeff Rogers
There was this stigma that gay role models would corrupt your child. It's because it's contagious. It's catchy. And you can see Milk on this documentary. He's at of like a debate or something. And in this debate, he says, it was kind of the brilliant thing of Harvey Milk. He said, I was born of heterosexual parents.
00:42:24
Jeff Rogers
I was taught by heterosexual teachers in a fiercely heterosexual society. TV ads, newspaper ads, fiercely heterosexual. A society that puts down homosexuality.
00:42:36
Jeff Rogers
And why am I a homosexual? If I'm affected by role models. I should have been a heterosexual. There was something about him. he just mean, boom. Boom.
00:42:47
Jeff Rogers
Drop your mic. Walk away. You're saying that it's contagious and that if I teach your kid, then I'm going to rub off on him or her, right? but but Here I am. i was raised in a very straight world.
00:43:00
Jeff Rogers
The whole world. Everything that I was exposed to. Yet, here I am. Can't be no gear. Can't be no gear. So that summer and fall, Milk and his group of people worked tirelessly to campaign against Proposition 6.
00:43:15
Jeff Rogers
Fuck Anita Bryant. It was, fuck Anita Bryant. um I would like to do a show on her. To tell her story. to show how nasty she is. show how nasty some people can be on the other side. Okay. Let's do it.
00:43:30
Jeff Rogers
But then I really don't want to um I don't know. I'm torn about that. But that summer, so he got to work campaigning against Proposition 6. He and his people would like go on the street handing pamphlets out and say, hey, if they can fire this teacher for being this way, they will start firing other people for being other ways.
00:43:50
Jeff Rogers
We're seeing it today. It happened in the 70s. It's not a one-off. This is the thing that happens. When they ban one person's rights, they can... It's a snowball. A snowball. All you need is add that foot in the door.
00:44:03
Jeff Rogers
But he was also kind of funny because he would say he would introduce people or himself to people and he would say, hi, I'm Harvey Milk. I'm here to recruit you. He said that the closet was a conspiracy of silence.
00:44:16
Jeff Rogers
He knew that gay people wouldn't win rights if they stayed in the closet. He strongly encouraged all gay people to come out. This is the thing that I knew of Harvey Milk.
00:44:27
Jeff Rogers
Yeah, that, well. this is the This is really the thing that he wanted everybody to come out. Yeah. That's the thing I knew of him. He encouraged the queer community to be themselves to their families.
00:44:39
Jeff Rogers
He sort of advocated the idea that if people came out, it would do more to fight homophobia and ignorance. Because of Harvey Milk many more and many more people, on November 7th, 1978, Proposition 6 was heavily defeated.
00:44:56
Jeff Rogers
That was huge. It also made Milk a target. Dan White was pissed that it didn't pass. He quit the board of supervisors like immediately, kind of like a...
00:45:08
Jeff Rogers
damn it i'm pissed off i'm quitting without giving it too much thought that was an elected position he was elected by people to do that job and he just quit so a lot of people didn't want him to quit um he tried to get the job back because immediately dan white knew that he made a mistake so he tried to get acted like a child because he acted like a child and then his his um fan base for like no his like supporters were like no we need you because you're fighting for our family values we need you to go back in that place and do that job but mayor musconi said no like you quit we're gonna apply the uh we're gonna appoint this other man don haranzi to the board of supervisors and
00:45:54
Jeff Rogers
which was White's former position. On November 28, 1978, Dan White returned to City Hall with a gun. He climbed through a window to avoid metal detectors. He walked into Mayor Moscone's office and shot Mayor Moscone four times.
00:46:10
Jeff Rogers
He reloaded his revolver and walked down the hall to Harvey Milk's office. White intercepted Milk as he was speaking to a radio reporter and an acquaintance acquaintance in the supervisor's office. White interrupted the conversation with a knock and asked Harvey Milk to step inside his former office for a moment.
00:46:28
Jeff Rogers
Milk agreed to join him. Once the door was closed, White positioned himself between the doorway and Harvey Milk, and after a brief conversation, opened fire on Milk at 10.55 a.m.
00:46:42
Jeff Rogers
The first bullet hit Milk's right wrist, and he tried to protect himself like he was getting up and trying to protect himself, so the first bullet hit his right wrist. um he continued firing hitting milk twice more in the chest and then fired a fourth bullet into milk's head killing him followed by a fifth shot point blank into the skull Rumors about what had happened began to circulate, but were not confirmed until 1120 a.m.
00:47:12
Jeff Rogers
At that time, another one of the people from the Board of Supervisors that was elected, Dianne Feinstein, addressed the assembly assembled media, which had expected the announcement announcement of the new apoint person appointed, right? To take Dan White's body. Instead, Feinstein was standing on stage shaking so badly, and you can see this in the documentary or on YouTube or whatever, she was shaking so badly that she required support from the police chief while speaking.
00:47:40
Jeff Rogers
She announced to shocked reporters that Moscone and Milk had both been murdered. Because of this, Dianne Feinstein was the president of she was the president of the Board of Supervisors, which meant that since Mayor Moscone died, she was now the first mayor or the first female mayor to be murdered.
00:47:57
Jeff Rogers
Sadly, she became mayor. You know, she just so happened to be the first female one. And that was so long ago. Crazy. That evening, um this beautiful Harvey Milk just died.
00:48:12
Jeff Rogers
And the city is so shocked. There's a man that that evening in the video gets off of the plane and he's like... uh let's go to the courthouse or the city hall building to do the candlelight vigil you know in honor of harvey milk and george musconi and they get to city hall and there's like 30 people there with candles and that man is is like is this all harvey milk's life meant is this all his life meant And then they said, it can't be. So they walked two blocks down and suddenly in front of them was tens of thousands of candles.
00:48:52
Jeff Rogers
Block after block after block going from one area of San Francisco to City Hall. It was so beautiful. um As for Dan White, the defense argued that he was suffering from depression, and they argued that because of his depression, his diet was bad.
00:49:12
Jeff Rogers
This is called the Twinkie defense. Swear to God, that's literally what it was called. And he was sentenced to, how many years do you think he was sentenced to?
00:49:21
Jeff Rogers
to Four years. Seven. He was sentenced to seven years. Twinkie defense for killing two people in cold blood. That's not the only thing. like they He was also a white straight man. He was also a right a white straight man.
00:49:35
Jeff Rogers
um They played his confession tape, which gained sympathy from the jurors who they selected. Those jurors, they selected, mind you. They did really good at jury selection to get the demographic that they wanted to get.
00:49:51
Jeff Rogers
and they played why great white christian people they played his uh confession which was he did it because the stress he was under he did it because he was depressed he just had a kid he left good job for the low-paying board of supervisors job so they he basically got away with murder after seven years when he got off When he basically, I mean, he did do six years or five and a half years in prison. For two lives. Yeah, no.
00:50:21
Jeff Rogers
And when his sentence was came out, like, the community went crazy. They started protesting. They started burning cop cars on, like, catching, setting flame to cop cars. They were destroying stuff. And the...
00:50:34
Jeff Rogers
The audacity of like the attorney person who was on TV. He's like, they need to quit. This is stupid. These people were pissed. you know He just murdered Harvey Milk and Moscone and god essentially got away with murder.
00:50:50
Jeff Rogers
So... That was Dan White. He got out of prison in 1985. um After he got out of prison, he did end up taking his own life. Good. Milk was murdered on the 28th of November, 1978.
00:51:02
Jeff Rogers
nineteen seventy eight But right before that,
Reflection on Milk's Impact and Podcast Closing
00:51:07
Jeff Rogers
on the 18th. Okay, so November 18th, he knew that there was a chance he could be murdered.
00:51:15
Jeff Rogers
Because he had become a target. He had become this spotlight against what the American dream was, right? So he released these tapes, only to be released if he were assassinated.
00:51:28
Jeff Rogers
And this is um some of the tape. This says, and this is Harvey speaking into the tape. He said, this is Harvey Milt speaking on Friday, November 18th, 1978. This tape is to be played in the event of my death by assassination.
00:51:45
Jeff Rogers
ah fully realized that a person who stands for what I stand for, an activist, a gay activist, becomes the target or potential target of a person who is insecure, terrified, afraid, or very disturbed.
00:52:00
Jeff Rogers
Knowing that I could be assassinated at any moment, at any time, I feel it's important that some people know my thoughts and why I did what I did. Almost everything that was done was done with an eye on the gay movement.
00:52:13
Jeff Rogers
I can't prevent some people from feeling angry and frustrated and mad in response to my death, but I hope they will take the frustration and madness and instead of demonstrating or anything of that type, I would hope that they would take the power And I would hope that five, ten, ah hundred, or a thousand would rise.
00:52:31
Jeff Rogers
I would like to see every gay man, every gay lawyer, every good architect come out, stand up and let the world know. That would do more to end prejudice overnight than anybody could imagine.
00:52:44
Jeff Rogers
ah urge them to do that. I urge them to come out. Only that way we will start to achieve our rights. All I ask is for the movement to continue.
00:52:56
Jeff Rogers
And if that bullet should enter my brain, let that bullet destroy every closet door. And that is the story of Harvey Milk.
00:53:10
Jeff Rogers
Damn. I got a damn out of Sam. Well, it's just, I mean,
00:53:17
Jeff Rogers
It's a, that's a powerful story that is impressive, that is wonderful. But to hear his, his words, after he knew what he was doing, you know, he knew that he was at risk of being assassinated, right?
00:53:38
Jeff Rogers
And to hear that his only request was that people live who they are, right? And that was in 1978. It's
00:53:48
Jeff Rogers
it's wild, huh? Yeah. But you think about all of the shit that has happened between then and now, and like, you still have people who can't come out of the closet. You still have people who don't know who Harvey Milk is. And it's, that to me is one those things where it's like, yes, his life meant so much and he had such a powerful impact.
00:54:12
Jeff Rogers
And yet it has been negated. And now we're wiping his name off of a U.S. Navy vessel. It's fucked up. Like he never existed. That's what happens with history. That's the thing that we, a common denominator. We pretend it doesn't happen. It's gently washed away.
00:54:28
Jeff Rogers
We spend years and years and years sugarcoating it, rewriting it, changing the wording. And then we get to a point where we are now where it just never happened.
00:54:42
Jeff Rogers
you know yep so that was good i like telling you that story i liked hearing it i hated it may 22nd june 19th or no may 22nd and today is my birthday may 22nd is your birthday that's such a nice intersection of it is things right it is very cool kismet um that's it is that it No, it's not it. Because when you listen to us, when you tell your friends to listen to us, we want you all to rate us, review us, leave us five stars, leave us four stars.
00:55:18
Jeff Rogers
If you want to leave one star, then you know you're kind of a dick, but we'll accept it because at least it's a rating, right? Total dick move. A total dick move. And that's coming from Jeff, who never like is negative about things. Me, I'm an asshole, so I won't hesitate to call you a dick.
00:55:32
Jeff Rogers
But rate us. Rate us, rate us, rate us. Leave us five stars because we're fucking fantastic. yeah and We appreciate you for sticking with us. Absolutely. And Alan, who is at Bonnaroo this weekend, living his best life. i love that for him. He's our overqualified, underpaid master publisher extraordinaire. He's at Bonnaroo with his lovely, extraordinary, exceptional wife, Ashley, the ultimate and epically unmatched hype queen editor.
00:56:00
Jeff Rogers
Kelsey, our incomparable swag and merch creator. Kelsey, who did her very first Pride, which was also World Pride, and she did it all the way. I love that. She did.
00:56:11
Jeff Rogers
and daniel daniel or Daniel, Daniel, Daniel. don't really know what to say to you right now because. Apart from he wasn't with us, did he? It's fine. I wasn't going to say that, but Jeff did. Not hurt at all. I'm hurt, but it's fine. Yeah, we're good. He's our friendly neighborhood supporter, and he has supported us through all of this, and he has always given us feedback and told us that, you know, are we suck, but he loves us anyway.
00:56:35
Jeff Rogers
Clearly, he doesn't love us enough, but, you know, I hope you enjoyed that golf game. Together, they are all our first and forever fans. Bye, everybody. We'll see you next time.
00:57:08
Jeff Rogers
Thank you.